LET’S face it – we all know what to expect by now when we play Stoke. It’s not going to be pretty, it’s not going to be free-flowing football, and it’s not going to have many goals to brighten a cold afternoon.

And that’s exactly what it was like when the Potters came to Goodison on Saturday, when the only thing really worth shouting about in the end was a satisfactory result.

I said beforehand when I was doing my radio show that I’d be happy with a scrappy 1-0 win, and I doubt whether many Evertonians would have disagreed.

We knew what was required, with Arsenal and Spurs both winning before we kicked off, so it was all about grinding out the three points to keep in touch.

The talk is still about the top four and a crack at the Champions League, and while Everton keep winning it can stay on the agenda even if it is a bit unrealistic. David Moyes is being very positive and saying it’s in his sights and that’s exactly what the fans, and his players, want to hear.

We’ve got some very difficult fixtures on the horizon, including two trips to North London to face two of our competitors for the top four, so we’re going to need every bit of luck that comes our way.

To that end I think we did get the rub of the green when the referee Mike Jones gave Ryan Shawcross’s second-half goal as offside, because for me it was borderline.

There was so much going on at that moment it was difficult to assess it properly, and fortunately we got the benefit of the doubt.

There was no disputing the quality of our goal. Kevin Mirallas is a quality player and as soon as he broke up the field you were thinking he had a chance.

Credit to him for keeping his cool when he got into the penalty area and scoring. It’s the hallmark of a really top player.

I thought Moyes’s decision to play a wing-back system with three central defenders worked well, especially given the opposition.

Sometimes you do have to make specific tactical plans for certain teams, and I think Stoke are one of those teams. Everton have got the players to adapt, and with John Heitinga looking more like his old self and Phil Jagielka being passed fit again I saw no reason why they both couldn’t figure alongside the ever-impressive Sylvain Distin. You only had to look at Stoke’s front two to realise they’d have their work cut out.

Fortunately we had the tireless running of Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman to keep our attacking momentum going down the flanks, and all things considering we did well to mask the absence of two important play-makers when it comes to the opposition’s final third; with both Steven Pienaar and Marouane Fellaini missing out.

We will miss those two badly against Spurs when the opposition will have plenty more attacking options so we’re going to need that organisational flexibility and work-rate all the more.